Plan to ship from the oil sands to the east coast runs into a snag

Oil-sands opponents rallied in Bretton Woods, N.H., where New England governors held their annual meeting with eastern Canadian premiers. On the table – energy trade and innovation.

“We are calling on Northeast leaders to oppose projects that would bring more tar sands oil into the region, and to implement a regional clean fuel standard along the lines of California,” Emily Kirkland, a campaigner for Massachusetts-based Better Future Project.

courtesy: Daniel Acker, Bloomberg

Keystone XL would send diluted bitumen to refiners on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Energy East would bring western crude to Saint John’s refinery, which is a major exporter to New England and mid-Atlantic states.

New Brunswick Energy Minister Craig Leonard said political leaders did not discuss oil sands in particular, but did focus on various efforts to increase renewable energy and cleaner transportation options.

Environmental groups have won a small victory in persuading the town of South Portland, Maine, to pass an ordinance which would prevent the export of oil sands-crude from its docks.

A spokesman for the pipeline company – which is owned by Imperial Oil Ltd. and Suncor Energy Corp. – condemned the decision as based on “irrational fears and in ignorance of plain facts.

Meanwhile, northeastern states have begun tracking and reporting crude sources for their transportation fuels, with the intention of eventually implementing a low-carbon fuel standards.